-
Micro-practice – Future Direction for Pharmacy
I2P has long proposed that pharmacy attracts two types of consumers – customers and patients. A little reflection will resolve this issue because clearly, customers will be attracted to the more commercialised aspects of pharmacy that compete with retailing in general, and the reason why pharmacists see their major competitors as supermarkets and variety stores.…
-
Value Over Profit ?
When pharmacy comes under financial pressure it always looks for a “quick fix” and it usually takes the form of concentrating resources and focus into various retail channels of activity. Even though pharmacists are criticised for expanding their retail offering and daring to create survival profits, it is a necessary activity to ensure that the…
-
The Amazon Supermarket (and Pharmacy) Coming to a Place Near to You
Just before Christmas 2016 i2P alerted pharmacists to a global retailer (Amazon) making plans to enter the Australian market with a massive retail offering (see http://i2p.com.au/how-amazon-will-dominate-global-retail/ ) and ambitions to dominate the entire retail sector. Amazon, of course, is already known in Australia for its online retailing of books While it often seems that some…
-
How Amazon Will Dominate Global Retail
Amazon is an innovation company that spends an extraordinary amount of money developing research on inventions that can eventually be implanted in the private homes of all consumers. One of its most successful inventions to date is called Echo, and this is a device that was originally envisioned as an intelligent, voice-controlled household appliance that…
-
Retail Disruption Coming – Around the Corner and Around the World
I2P has always given direction for community pharmacy well in advance of the actual events liable to be disruptive or transformative. About four years ago we set out to define a “new paradigm pharmacy” that would cater for the needs of a community pharmacy and to include an emphasis on clinical services and the smart…
-
Three Bioethicists Critical of Pharmacy Retailing
Three bioethicists have combined to criticise the concept of community pharmacy conducting retail front of shop activities, while simultaneously working in the best interests of the patient. Their comments are published in Croakey here. The bioethicists, Wendy Lipworth, Christopher Mayes and Ian Kerridge (all medical academics attached to the University of Sydney) discuss what is…
-
Marketing Focus – Miscellaneous Essays on Management & Marketing
BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS – NOW TRANSACTIONAL My, how things have changed. The nature of, and expectations for most business relationships in 2016 are now founded and valued on single transactions, and short-term relationships. Put aside the well crafted vision and philosophy statements about customer-centricity, client-driven and mutually rewarding strategic alliances. Reality is, that for…
-
Another Big Yellow Box Format
For some time the name “Big Yellow Box” has been the unofficial title given to a certain warehouse-type pharmacy group. Psychologically it has been determined that the colour yellow in association with retail environments creates a flow-on effect of “cheapness” or “low cost” in a consumer’s mind. Many major retailers include large slabs of the…
-
A Cautious Introduction of Marijuana into Your Pharmacy
Recently, an Israelis company lodged an application to approve its topical cannabis derived products for sale in the Australian market place. So topical marijuana may be the first entrant in the Australian pharmacy market. Some marijuana products already exist in the retail market place – but they are for external use only. Hemp oil, for…
-
Selling is not all about the product
Over my decades in business, I’ve noticed a baffling trend: “sales” has become a dirty word. I’m on a life-long campaign to change that. In fact, many companies no longer call sales people sales people. They have account executives or account specialists, business developers, client advisers, relationship consultants, territory managers and numerous other monikers. I…